North-South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira said Malaysia had non-transparent SOPs when it came to domestic workers, while the laws were poorly enforced, putting them in vulnerable situations.
“However, it would not be accurate to say that poor treatment of domestic workers in Singapore is little to none, as gross abuses on domestic workers have been reported there, too,” he told FMT.
His comments come after Hermono, the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, lamented on the poor treatment of Indonesian domestic workers here. He also questioned why there were so many such cases in Malaysia and little to none in Singapore.
Hermono said there had been numerous cases of domestic workers being made to work for their employers for years without being paid, some even working for more than a decade under such conditions.
Domestic workers in Malaysia ‘denied protection’
Pereira said the government and the public perceived Indonesian domestic workers as slaves, adding that terms like “maids” symbolised the “indentured servitude-like attributes”.
“This is the primary problem, the perception which impacts our behaviour and policies. Until today, migrant domestic workers are denied the protection offered to other workers. This disparity clearly shows that there is no political will to reform this sector,” he said.
He said that currently, there were too many critical exemptions that caused domestic workers here to fall under labour trafficking scenarios.
Asked if a finalised memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Jakarta and Putrajaya would better protect these workers, Pereira said history had shown that such MoUs were bound to fail, as they were done in secret with minimal to zero discussions and debates with domestic workers and civil society.
“Only when there is a comprehensive law and policy on domestic workers incorporating the Decent Work principles proposed by the International Labour Organization (ILO), then will we see justice and protection for domestic workers,” he said.
Separate law for domestic workers
Tenaganita executive director Glorene Das said there was a need for a single law that covered the entirety of domestic work and potential issues that might arise due to the isolated nature of the work.
“We call for a separate law in which domestic work is recognised as work, and the women are identified as workers, not as servants. The source countries also have equal responsibilities to protect the rights of their nationals, especially migrant workers.
“They must ensure that domestic workers do not enter into debt bondage and their rights are guaranteed before they leave through the bilateral agreements and when in employment,” she told FMT.
Das said the government should pass a domestic workers bill or strengthen the protection mechanism for them before another death or case of abuse arose.
“The government should live up to its responsibilities to protect this vulnerable sector which has contributed so significantly to the well-being of millions of Malaysians,” she said.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Indonesian Migrant Domestic Workers Association (Pertimig), who only wanted to be known as Rosidah, hoped that Putrajaya would conduct better monitoring of the sector to prevent domestic workers from being exploited by their employers.
Most domestic workers, she said, did not have access to communication devices like mobile phones.
“I think supervision is really important and must be improved apart from getting domestic workers the same recognition under Malaysia’s labour laws,” she said.